The risks of turning children forward-facing too early – new research presented at international safety conference

In 2021, not a single child under the age of 15 was killed in a passenger car on Swedish roads – a historic milestone in road safety. Yet new research and recent survey data suggest that awareness of child car safety recommendations is declining. Today, 15 percent of Swedish parents with young children are unfamiliar with current child car seat recommendations – three times more than just five years ago.

Sweden has long been regarded as a global leader in child road safety. Since the 1960s and 1970s, child fatalities in traffic have decreased by 92 percent, largely due to the development of rear-facing travel and stringent safety standards.

Despite this success, researchers are now seeing signs of a growing knowledge gap among parents.

– It is an incredible achievement, but we must remember that new generations of parents need access to this knowledge. We cannot take awareness for granted. Continuous education is essential if we want to maintain the safety leadership Sweden has built over many decades, says Anna Carlsson, Researcher at Chalmers Industriteknik.

Survey reveals widespread uncertainty around safety recommendations

A recent survey conducted by Axkid and Volvia (2025) confirms that an increasing number of parents are unsure about current child car safety recommendations. In 2025, 15 percent of respondents stated that they were unfamiliar with child car seat guidelines, compared to just 5 percent in 2020. Only 38 percent knew the earliest recommended age at which a child should transition to a forward-facing car seat.

These findings were among the topics discussed at this year’s Child and Safety Conference, hosted by Axkid at World of Volvo in Gothenburg. The international conference brought together experts from research, healthcare, and industry to discuss the future of child road safety.

One of the keynote speakers was Maria Klingegård, Traffic Safety Researcher at Folksam, who presented new research on fatal car crashes involving children.

– We see that an alarmingly high proportion of children involved in fatal crashes were either completely unrestrained or not travelling in rear-facing car seats. Our analysis shows that approximately half of the children aged 0–3 who lost their lives could have survived if they had been travelling rear-facing. Keeping children rear-facing for as long as possible remains the single most important factor in protecting children in vehicles, she says.

The study was conducted by Folksam, Chalmers Industriteknik, and Volvo Cars and is based on analyses of fatal crashes involving children under the age of 15 in Sweden between 1992 and 2024. As part of the research, the team also carried out an in-depth analysis of children aged 0–6 to assess the impact of rear-facing car seats on survival outcomes in severe crashes.

– We want to take responsibility for child safety across the entire ecosystem. It is not enough to focus solely on our own product category – we need a broader perspective. By bringing together leading experts and researchers from across the industry, we can share insights and strengthen our collective efforts to protect children on the roads, says Anton Wall, Vice President and Commercial Director at Axkid.

Sweden’s commitment to rear-facing travel stretches back decades. In addition to being an early adopter of seatbelt legislation, the country has consistently pioneered innovations that improve road safety. These efforts contributed to the historic milestone reached in 2021, when no child under the age of 15 died in a passenger car on Swedish roads.

– This achievement is evidence that Sweden’s long-term approach to road safety has been effective. We are unique in having detailed national crash data spanning several decades, allowing us to identify which measures truly save lives, says Anna Carlsson.

Even when children begin to outgrow their car seats physically, the safest option is to keep them rear-facing for as long as possible – ideally up to the age of seven, according to Axkid’s recommendations. However, child passenger safety does not end there. Anna Carlsson also emphasizes the importance of using a high-back booster seat or booster cushion until the age of 10–12, as a child’s pelvic bones are not yet fully developed and the seatbelt may otherwise ride up onto the abdomen during a collision.

For more information, please contact:

Anton Wall, Vice President and Commercial Director at Axkid

E-mail: anton.wall@axkid.com

Phone: +46 73 054 49 76

Maria Klingegård, Researcher at Folksam

E-mail: maria.klingegard@folksam.se

Phone: +46 70 831 55 12

Anna Carlsson, Researcher at Chalmers Industriteknik

E-mail: anna.carlsson@chalmersindustriteknik.se

Phone: +46 70 594 36 50